Education

May 6, 2014

The field of
robotics sits upon a three-legged stool.

“There is a leg that is about mechanisms—designing things that
exert forces on the environment. There is a leg that is about
sensing—robots need to understand and respond appropriately
to the environment, otherwise it’s just a can opener,” says C. J. Taylor, a professor of computer and information science. “And the third leg is about decision-making and control—
this encompasses topics such as artificial intelligence, machine
learning, control theory.”

It’s logical, then, that the study of robotics is divided into
three disciplines: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering,
and computer science. This structure is similar at peer
institutions, but only at the University of Pennsylvania do the three work together under
one roof: the GRASP Lab.

“I’m a mechanical engineer, next to me is an electrical engineer,
across the hall is a computer scientist,” says Vijay Kumar, the UPS Foundation Professor with appointments in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Computer and Information Science, and Electrical and Systems Engineering. “You
will not find that at 99 percent of the places you go to. This is
very unusual.”

Penn offers a master’s degree in robotics, but unlike other
institutions, the University does not offer a specialized Ph.D.
program. It’s a strategic move—with Ph.D. students focused on one
of the three disciplines sharing a space, collaboration among
specialized experts becomes vital.

“[Robotics] has always been a preeminent interdisciplinary
initiative at this school,” says Eduardo Glandt, who has served as
the dean of SEAS since late 1999 and has been at Penn since 1975,
when he arrived to earn his master’s degree in chemical
engineering. “We all claim to be interdisciplinary, but what makes
it easier at Penn to be interdisciplinary is geography. The fact
that we are in a compact place, you bump into each other, and that
fosters reactions.”

“It’s a culmination of enthusiasm, some
creativity, and yeah, the willingness to fail a lot because that’s what
happens with this. [Robots] never work the first time out of the gate.
That’s one of the rules about robotics.”

Mechatronics

In a field that thrives through both innovative and analytical
approaches, the caliber and characteristics of its students matter.

“I think it really helps, though it’s not required, [for students]
to have a sense of being able to still remain creative,” says
Jonathan Fiene, senior lecturer and director of Laboratory
Programs in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. He says
the reason he pursued a Ph.D. was so he would have the ability to
teach. “It’s a culmination of enthusiasm, some creativity, and
yeah, the willingness to fail a lot because that’s what happens
with this. [Robots] never work the first time out of the gate.
That’s one of the rules about robotics.”

Related Stories

Staff Q&A with Jonathan Fiene

Jonathan Fiene is perhaps best known for the
“Design of Mechatronic Systems” class he
leads and its ambitious final projects, which require students to prove that they have synthesized their lessons by pitting their final designs against one another in raucous competitions, including a robotic hockey tournament known as Robockey.

Classes that focus on robotics include everything from mechanical
design and mechanical engineering to machine design and
manufacturing. Fiene teaches a course called “Design of
Mechatronic Systems”—“mechatronic” is a mash-up of “mechanical”
and “electronics”—in which students examine the fusion of the
robotics triad without any prerequisite experience.

“This is a class where we really try to get people who often know
one of these disciplines—they know mechanical design or they’re
good with circuits or they’re really good with programming,” Fiene
says. “It’s why they take the class — nobody has all three of
those, and they’ve had very little experience putting them all
together. We often don’t have the opportunity to bring all that
together, and this class is designed specifically to do just that.”

Throughout the semester, members of the class design pint-size
robotic hockey teams that are capable of skating on wheels,
shooting with pistons, and seeing the puck, the goals, and each
other using a variety of sensors. For the course’s final project,
the teams face off in The Robockey Cup.

Robockey tournament, 2013

For students in the “Design of Mechatronic Systems” class,
“the finals” are more than just an exam; they are a tournament
in which the winners hoist a trophy high above their heads in
victory.

The competition takes place on a 4-foot-by-8-foot sheet of slick
plastic beneath a constellation of infrared “stars” mounted high
above the rink, allowing the robots to know where they are during
the game. Fiene says he chose the competition model because it
generates enthusiasm and excitement among his students, and is a
comprehensive test of their ability to synthesize the three core
disciplines.

“It’s all about the team,” says Nicholas McGill, a fifth-year
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student pursuing a master’s
in robotics. “It’s a really aggressive schedule—you have four
weeks to develop three robots, debug them, laser-cut all the
materials. You couldn’t do it alone. You had to have three people
working in unison to make it happen.”

Student Work

As McGill nears graduation in May, he’s more likely to worry
about juggling job offers than bolstering his resume. It’s already
dazzling with accomplishments, ranging from working with
industry-leading 3D printing company MakerBot Industries to
co-developing a customized intubating airway medical device.

Perhaps most notably, McGill is the co-creator of the Titan Arm,
a powered upper-body exoskeleton for use in physical therapy and
occupational lifting. Working with Engineering undergraduates
Elizabeth Beattie, Nick Parrotta, and Niko Vladimirov for their
senior design project, McGill was able to create a bionic arm that
augments its user’s strength by up to 40 lbs. Titan Arm has the
potential to be an affordable method for physical therapy patients
to regain strength and mobility, as well as a preventative measure
for workers who are at risk for repetitive stress injuries.

Weighing only 20 lbs. and constructed for less than $2,000, Titan
Arm’s power comes from a battery-powered motor mounted on a SCUBA
backplate that the user wears with straps repurposed from a hiking
backpack. After strapping his or her right arm into a support, a
cable system transfers the motor’s motion to the support’s elbow
joint.

The project earned the team more than just a passing grade—they
won the 2013 James Dyson Award, a prestigious international
competition that aims to encourage engineering students to develop
products that address a social ill. Titan Arm is the first product
from the United States to win the award.

McGill credits much of his success to the supportive environment
at Penn.

“It all comes from relationships,” McGill says. “Having
relationships through faculty or friends, it really changes the
way you experience everything. I’ve always thought of Penn
Engineering as more than just academics. You stick with your
friends throughout the labs and the late nights, and that really
enhances the education. Some of my best moments are hanging out at
2 a.m. in the Towne Building. That’s when the best bonding happens,
and it’s only fueled my fire for being interested in engineering.”

In the News

Penn Engineering team wins international invention award

As part of their senior design project in May, a team of Mechanical
Engineering and Applied Mechanics undergrads—Elizabeth Beattie,
Nick McGill, Nick Parrotta, and Niko Vladimirov—made Titan Arm, a
device that looks like it was ripped from a science fiction movie and
augments a user's strength by up to 40 lbs.
Their design is the first product from the United States to win the international 2013 James Dyson Award.

“Students who come here know GRASP is a brand. But
they also know that they come to work with a
community. We offer students two things: We offer
them great faculty, and we offer them the community
of excellent students.”

- Eduardo Glandt, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science

Penn’s Edge

His spark for engineering, McGill could say, runs in the family.
He was inspired to come to Penn by his older brothers—Will
and Steve McGill.

Steve McGill, a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Systems
Engineering, can boast his own series of accomplishments. He’s
served as an integral force behind Penn’s efforts in the DARPA
Robotics Challenge, a competition designed to push the envelope in
terms of robots that could autonomously serve in emergency and
disaster scenarios, as well as RoboCup, an international robotics
challenge in which participants develop and program robots to play
soccer. Listing names of faculty members who have supported him
since his early days at Penn as an undergraduate, he quits, saying
there are “too many to count.”

“There’s no parallel to Penn,” Steve McGill says. “You can go to
some other schools, and their labs are miles apart, and in some
cases, the students don’t know each other. At Penn, you go to the
water cooler and talk to [Professor of Computer and Information
Science] Jean Gallier about his course, and then you walk in to
Dan [Koditschek] Kod’s office and he has a new robot he’s playing
with, and Vijay’s always flying around. You can always chat with
these people—all the professors are right there.”

Fiene says aside from the leading-edge technology and premier
community of scientists, that support structure is what allows
people within the GRASP Lab to do amazing things.

“[Penn] has committed to making sure that we can do, within
reason, everything possible to give the best educational experience
for these students, and to me, that means a lot,” Fiene says.

Meet our Faculty

Daniel Lee

Daniel Lee, the Evan C. Thompson Term Chair for Excellence
in Teaching, is a professor in the School of Engineering
and Applied Science, director of the GRASP (General
Robotics Automation, Sensing, Perception) Lab, and
co-director of the CMU-Penn University Transportation Center.

Vijay Kumar is the UPS Foundation Professor in the School
of Engineering and Applied Science. He served as director
of the GRASP Lab from 1998-2004 and remains a member, and
chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering
and Applied Mechanics from 2005-2008. He is
currently on sabbatical as the assistant director of
robotics and cyber physical systems at the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Katherine J. Kuchenbecker is an associate professor in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and
director of the Haptics Group. She has a secondary
appointment in the Department of Computer and Information
Science and is also a member of the GRASP Lab.

Mark Yim is a professor in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering and Applied Mechanics in the School of
Engineering and Applied Science, and supervisor of the
Modular Robotics Lab (ModLab). He is also a member of the
GRASP Lab.

Jonathan Fiene is a senior lecturer and director of
laboratory programs in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering and Applied Mechanics in the School of
Engineering and Applied Science. He is also a member of
the GRASP Lab.

“Students who come here know GRASP is a brand,” says Eduardo
Glandt. “But they also know that they come to work with a
community. We offer students two things: We offer them great
faculty, and we offer them the community of excellent students.
These become your best friends for life and your spouses and
significant others, but also your partners in startups and
resources forever.”